OAKLAND
LEADERSHIP FORUM TO DISCUSS COMMUNITY SAFETY-
THE FEDERAL ROLE IN DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO REDUCE
CRIME IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS

On Friday, April
25th, DEA personnel from the San Francisco Field Division joined Congresspersons
Barbara Lee and Elijah Cummings, and other elected officials at the African
American Museum and Library in Oakland, California to discuss strategies
to address violence and crime in the East San Francisco Bay area of California.
Some of the elected officials in attendance included the Mayor of Berkeley,
the Chief of the Oakland Police Department, and the Chief of Bay Area
Rapid Transit (BART). Attendees included community members, community
leaders, clergy, state government representatives, local government representatives,
not-for-profit organizations, physicians, educators, youth, and media
representatives. The event was covered by CSPAN.

Many strategies to
address crime and violence were discussed. Strategies included, but were
not limited to: after school programs, teen recreational centers, community
policing, transitional and educational services for discharged jail detainees
and prisoners, crime prevention research, community based intervention
programs, and mentoring programs.

Residents also
wanted economic empowerment, more social services, prevention programs,
educational reform, and a greater dialogue with community youth.

The federal role
in addressing the threat of crime and violence was also addressed. Some
federal strategies discussed included increasing funding for employment
programs, entrepreneurial endeavors, mental health programs, affordable
housing, Head Start, and drug prevention programs.

There were several
ways that community residents wanted the DEA to assist. These included
more public awareness regarding the arrest and conviction of the sources
of supply and drug distributors in the community. Another request from
the community was an increased presence from the Demand Reduction Program
to work with clergy and educators to enforce the anti-drug message for
youth. Residents also wanted an aggressive campaign against crack, cocaine,
Ecstasy, and other dangerous "club" drugs that are perceived
to be the new biggest threat in the East Bay area.

Assistant SAC of
the DEA San Francisco Field Division, Lawrence Mendosa, spoke about
the
need to work collaboratively with state and local law enforcement and
community members. He also discussed the DEA's efforts to arrest the "high
level" drug dealers in the East Bay community. In addition to
presenting the enforcement side of the DEA, ASAC Mendosa addressed
the Demand Reduction
Program and presented ways in which the program can assist in educating
youth about the perils of drugs. A representative from the Federal
Bureau
of Investigation (FBI) also presented about the ways the Department of
Justice can assist through collaborating on enforcement activities
in
the East Bay.

Congressperson Elijah
Cummings stated his intention to address all of these issues with members
of Congress. The forum was recorded
and will
be televised on CSPAN.